Christian Island is primarily forest. The bedrock is limestone, and the soil is mainly sand, remnants of
Glacial Lake Algonquin. A prehistoric species of grass, known as
Forked three-awned grass or unofficially as "Ice Age Grass," has been found on the Island. This is linked to its glacial beginnings. Forked three-awned grass is designated as a species at risk. Originally, Christian Island was known by its Huron name
Gahoendoe. The three islands were, in the 19th century, collectively known as the Christian Islands: Beckwith Island was called Faith Island, while Christian Island, which is the largest of the three, was known as Charity Island. In 1649, thousands of Huron refugees and a few
Jesuit missionaries from
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons took refuge during the winter on the island during the
Huron-
Iroquois wars. The Jesuits called the island St. Joseph Island. With insufficient food, many of the First Nations people starved during the winter. The island's occupation by Huron Catholics and Jesuits was the basis for its name of "Christian" Island. Specifically, it was named in honour of the
Canadian Martyrs. During their brief stay, the Jesuits constructed a small fort including a stone wall, a church, living quarters, a well and a stable. The Huron camp, consisting of over 100 cabins, was also fortified in the case of a potential siege. This collection of structures was termed Sainte-Marie II by archaeologists. However, despite their attempts to clear the forest and plant crops, famine struck the group as winter descended, which historical evidence suggests, caused an outbreak of cannibalism. This was followed by an attack by the Iroquois in March of 1650. Facing increasingly hostile conditions, the Jesuits and most of the Huron refugees left the island and travelled to Quebec in the summer of 1650. The remaining Huron, along with the surviving remnants of the Petun, an Iroquoian group living at the base of the Niagara Escarpment near present-day Collingwood, left the island in 1651. The
Petun had suffered serious losses in Iroquois raids in late 1649 and 1650. Their descendants eventually settled in the
Detroit-
Windsor area. Some were later forcibly resettled by U.S. authorities in
Oklahoma. Christian Island is inhabited by the
Beausoleil First Nation. Their ancestors were nomadic, travelling from northern Georgian Bay and the United States around Lakes Huron and Michigan. The early Canadian government tried to assimilate First Nations peoples into the larger society. They encouraged the Beausoleil to give up their nomadic ways and settle at Coldwater in 1834-1842 as part of the Coldwater Narrows Reserve. Later the Natives were displaced to
Beausoleil Island in 1842, and still later, were displaced to Christian Island in 1856, where they have remained. The First Nation has tried various ways to generate income on the small reserve, including stocking the island with pheasants for hunting, a cattle operation, a charcoal operation, and a commercial fishery. A portion of lands are designated for cottage leasing. Today, many of the residents work on the mainland, and a growing community has sprung up on an annex of property at the Cedar Point landing. Hope and Beckwith islands are uninhabited, but are popular anchorage sites for boaters, who pay a small anchorage fee to the First Nation community. The First Nation operates an elementary school, a health centre, and a community centre. 24-hour EMS service and a volunteer fire department operate year-round. A ferry service connects the mainland at
Cedar Point to Christian Island. A car ferry, the
Sandy Graham, travels the strait between the Point and the Island on a regular schedule. Another ferry, the
Indian Maiden, carries passengers only. It is capable of breaking ice up to 6" thick. A hovercraft serves the island in case of emergency. At times of severe cold, the people build an ice road between the island and the mainland. As a result of the above average ice cover in February 2014 the ice road was opened. Christian Island has a
lighthouse that marks the southern tip of the island. It was used in the past for ships travelling from
Collingwood to Penetanguishene, Midland, and
Parry Sound. First lit in 1859, it is among the oldest lighthouses in Georgian Bay and one of the six
Imperial Towers. ==Notable individuals==